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Brain Busters: A New One Each Day!

The Insider team LOVES brain teasers! So, we decided to have some February Fun. Each day in February, we’ll present a NEW mental challenge sure to excite your grey matter. You’ll find the answer by logging in. No cheating because what fun is that, right?

Check back daily for that day’s question and see if you have what it takes to be the next super sleuth or Mensa member!

Day 1

A man is the owner of a winery who recently passed away. In his will, he left 21 barrels (seven of which are filled with wine, seven of which are half full, and seven of which are empty) to his three sons. However, the wine and barrels must be split so that each son has the same number of full barrels, the same number of half-full barrels, and the same number of empty barrels. Note that there are no measuring devices handy. How can the barrels and wine be evenly divided?

Day 2

In a year there are 12 months. 7 months have 31 days. How many months have 28 days?

Day 3

What are the next 3 letters in the following sequence?

J, F, M, A, M, J, J, A, __, __, __

Day 4

You are in a room that has 3 switches and a closed door. The switches control 3 light bulbs on the other side of the door. Once you open the door, you may never touch the switches again.

How can you definitively tell which switch is connected to each of the light bulbs?

Day 5

Your dad tells you that he will pay you $6.00 an hour for the 6 seconds that you take to wash your hands before dinner.

How much did you make for washing your hands?

Day 6

A farmer had 17 sheep. All but nine died. How many were left?

Day 7

Two fathers and two sons went fishing. Each of them caught a fish and put it in the bucket. When they went home there were only three fish in the bucket. How is this possible?

Day 8

You have a 3 gallon jug and a 5 gallon jug. You need to measure out exactly 7 gallons of water. How can you do it?

Day 9

You are on the bank of a river. You have to get a fox, a hen, and corn to the other side of the river. If left alone, the fox will eat the hen, and the hen will eat the corn if left alone. The boat is only big enough to take you and one other three to the other side.

How do you get all 3 across intact?

Day 10

You are in a cookie factory, and need to make a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies. The recipe calls for exactly 4 cups of sugar. Problem is that you have two buckets. One is 5 cups, the other is 3 cups. Using these buckets, can you measure exactly 4 cups of sugar? How?

Day 11

What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never speaks, has a head but never weeps, and has a bed but never sleeps?

Day 12

All of my flowers except two are roses. All of my flowers except two are tulips. All of my flowers except two are daisies. How many flowers do I have, and what are they?

Day 13

A father is four times as old as his son. In twenty years, he'll be twice as old. How old are they now?

Day 14

Sally and Anna bought 8 sweets and shared between themselves. Sally ate 2 more sweets than Anna did. How many sweets did Anna have?

Day 15

What five letter word sounds like one letter of the alphabet?

Day 16

What mathematical symbol can be put between 5 and 9, to get a number bigger than 5 and smaller than 9?

Day 17

How can you make seven even?

Day 18:

You and two friends rent a hotel room that costs $30, so you put in $10 each. Later that night, the owner of the hotel realizes he has overcharged you so he sends the bellhop with $5. The bellhop steals $2 and returns $1 to each of you.

So you have each now paid $9. $9 x 3 = $27. The bellhop stole $2. That equals $29 - what happened to the last dollar?

Day 19

Your sock drawer contains 24 white socks and 30 black socks. The lights in your room are off, so you cannot see the color of the socks. How many socks must you grab to ensure to have at least one matching pair?

Day 20

A man left home running. He ran a ways and then turned left, ran the same distance and turned left again, ran the same distance and turned left again. When he got home there were two masked men. Who were they?

Day 21

You and two friends rent a hotel room that costs $30, so you put in $10 each. Later that night, the owner of the hotel realizes he has overcharged you so he sends the bellhop with $5. The bellhop steals $2 and returns $1 to each of you.

So you have each now paid $9. $9 x 3 = $27. The bellhop stole $2. That equals $29 - what happened to the last dollar?

Day 22

Three men are captured by cannibals in the jungle. The men are given one chance to escape with their lives. The men are lined up and bound to stakes such that one man can see the backs of the other two, the middle man can see the back of the front man, and the front man can't see anybody. The men are shown five hats, three of which are black and two of which are white. Then the men are blindfolded, and one of the five hats is placed on each man's head. The remaining two hats are hidden away. The blindfolds are removed. The men are told that if just one of the men can guess what hat he's wearing, they may all go free. Time passes. Finally, the front man, who can't see anyone, correctly guesses the color of his hat. What color was it, and how did he guess correctly?

Day 23

If you are in a dark room with a candle, a wood stove and a gas lamp. You only have one match. What do you light first?

Day 24

A man is on a game show. He is presented with two doors, one on the left, and one on the right. Behind one is 2 million dollars, and behind the other is a donkey. Choose the correct door to win the prize. There are also two men in front of the doors, and they know which door leads to the millions. One wears a black hat, the other wears a white hat.

The host explains that one of the men is a liar, and will always lie, and the other man will always tell the truth - but you don't know which is which.

You can ask only one of the men only one question. What is the question, and which man do you ask to ensure you win the money?

Day 25

Please add the following numbers in your head.

Start with 1000.

Add 40

Add 1000

Add 30

Add 1000

Add 20

Add 1000

Add 10

Write down your answer.

Day 26

Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?

Day 27

Which is heavier? A pound of feathers, or a pound of rocks?

Day 28

A man is trapped in a room. The room has only two possible exits: two doors. Through the first door there is a room constructed from magnifying glass. The blazing hot sun instantly fries anything or anyone that enters. Through the second door there is a fire-breathing dragon. How does the man escape?

Log in below for answers!

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ANSWERS

Day 1: Two half-full barrels are dumped into one of the empty barrels. Two more half-full barrels are dumped into another one of the empty barrels. This results in nine full barrels, three half-full barrels, and nine empty barrels. Each son gets three full barrels, one half-full barrel, and three empty barrels.

Day 2: They all do.

Day 3: S, O, N

The sequence is first letter of the months of the year. September, October and November are the next in the sequence.

Day 4: Turn on the first 2 switches. Leave them on for 5 minutes. Once 5 minutes has passed, turn off the second switch, leaving one switch on. Now go through the door. The light that is still on is connected to the first switch, whichever of the other two is warm to the touch is connected to the second switch. The bulb that is cold is connected to the switch that was never turned on!!

Day 5: 1 cent.

Day 6: Nine

Day 7: There was only three people, a grandfather, a father and a son. The grandfather is a father to the father and the father is a father to the son. So that makes two fathers. The father is the son of the grandfather and the son is the son of the father. So that makes two sons.

Day 8: Fill the 5 gallon jug, pour it into the 3 gallon jug until the 3 gallon is full, leaving 2 gallons in the 5 gallon jug. Now pour the 3 gallon jug out. Pour the remaining 2 gallons from the 5 gallon into the empty 3 gallon jug. Now fill the 5 gallon from the faucet. You now have exactly 7 gallons.

Day 9: First take the hen across. Leave the hen.

Go back and get the fox. Take the fox to the other side. Leave the fox there, but take the hen with you back to get the corn.

Leave the hen and take the corn to the other side.

Drop the corn off with the fox, then go back to get the hen.

Bring the hen to the other side.

All 3 make it fully intact!

Day 10: This is possible, and there are 2 ways to do it:

Solution 1: Fill the 3 cup bucket, pour it into the 5 cup bucket. Fill the 3 cup bucket again, and pour it into the 5 cup bucket until the 5 cup bucket is full. That will leave exactly 1 cup of sugar in the 3 cup bucket. Dump out the 5 cup bucket, and dump the 1 cup from the 3 cup bucket into the empty 5 cup bucket. This leaves 1 cup in the 5 cup bucket. Now fill the 3 cup again and add it to the 5 cup bucket. Now you have exactly 4 cups of sugar in the 5 cup bucket!

Solution 2: Fill the 5 cup bucket. Pour it into the 3 cup bucket. This leaves 2 cups in the 5 cup bucket. Dump out the 3 cup bucket. Now pour the 2 cups from the 5 cup into the 3 cup. Refill the 5 cup. Now pour the 5 cup into the 3 cup until the 3 cup is full. That will leave exactly 4 cups in the 5 cup bucket!

Day 11: A river!

Day 12: Three - one rose, one tulip and one daisy.

Day 13: The father is 40. The son is 10.

Day 14: 3. Sally had 5 and Anna had 3.

Day 15: Queue

Day 16: A decimal point

Day 17: Take away the "s"

Day 18: The accounting method is wrong. The $2 is actually a part of the $27, and shouldn't be added to it as stated in the problem.

Day 19: Three. In the worst case, the first two socks you take out will consist of one black sock and one white sock. The next sock you take out is guaranteed to match one or the other.

Day 20: The catcher and the umpire.

Day 21: The accounting method is wrong. The $2 is actually a part of the $27, and shouldn't be added to it as stated in the problem.

Day 22: The back man can see the hats worn by the two men in front of him. So, if both of those hats were white, he would know that the hat he wore was black. But, since he doesn't answer, he must see at least one black hat ahead of him.

After it becomes apparent to the middle man that the back man can't figure out what he's wearing, he knows that there is at least one black hat worn by himself and the front man. Knowing this, if the middle man saw a white hat in front of him, he'd know that his own hat was black, and could answer the question correctly. But, since he doesn't answer, he must see a black hat on the front man.

After it becomes apparent to the front man that neither of the men behind him can answer the question, he realizes the middle man saw a black hat in front of him. So he says, correctly, "My hat is black."

Day 23: The match

Day 24: You ask either man the following question: "If I asked the other guy which door has the money, what would he say?", then choose the opposite door.

Work it out: If you ask the question to the liar, he will lie about the 'correct' answer, so you must choose the opposite door. If you ask the truth teller, he will tell the truth about the lie, so you can choose the opposite door as well.

Day 25: Many will get 5000. But the actual answer is 4100!

Day 26: Mt. Everest. It was still the highest in the world - it just hadn't been discovered yet!

Day 27: Neither. Both weigh a pound!

Day 28: He waits until night time and then goes through the first door.

Source: www.TheTeachersCorner.net

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